Night Czar backs iconic LGBTQ+ pub protest

London’s Night Czar Amy Lamé has voiced her support for reopening iconic LGBTQ+ pub, the Black Cap in Camden.

The venue’s shock closure in April 2015 drew heated protests with staff, locals and prominent members of the LGBTQ+ community gathering outside the pub to show their anger.

Plans to reopen the pub in July last year stalled after pubco Ruth & Robinson, which owned the lease, claimed the building was likely to remain empty.

Lamé showed her support for the pub and explained how her experience as a former mayoress meant she understood the importance of the venue to the north London borough.

Huge importance

She said: “It is now two years since the sad closure of the Black Cap, one of London’s most iconic LGBTQ+ venues.

“As a former Mayoress of Camden, I am well aware of the huge importance of the Black Cap to both the LGBTQ+ community and the residents of Camden – with many thousands of people supporting the campaign to see it reopen.

“As London’s Night Czar, I am looking at how London can capitalise on its night-time economy and I am absolutely committed to backing LGBTQ+ venues as part of a diverse and thriving 24-hour London.

“I would love to see the Black Cap open once again and will support the campaign in any way I can.”

Less flats, more heels

The pub’s campaign group, the Black Cap Foundation is hosting an anniversary protest outside the site this Saturday (22 April) with a range of singers and supporters.

The campaign group’s spokesperson Alex Green said: “Sadly, we are marking the second anniversary after another year of battling to stop this legendary and important LGBTQ+ performance venue becoming yet another sterile, overpriced food outlet and unaffordable flats.

“We say ‘less flats, more heels’.

“Camden’s whole economy is built on its cultural and entertainment diversity and local people, and others from far and wide, who come each year in their millions demand that this is to continue.”